Some years ago (1997 to be exact), the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition featured an article stating that women’s protein needs had been underestimated up until then.
In the same issue, a different article discussed the higher rate of serotonin turnover in women’s brains versus that of men. (Serotonin is made from the amino acid tryptophan. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.) So women need protein for that reason.
The same year, Smith et al. published a study in the Lancet describing the relapse of depression in susceptible women after rapid depletion of tryptophan.
It’s a long-held theory of mine that people who minimize the importance of dietary protein don’t recognize the need for what I call “brain protein.” And it turns out that protein is now being evaluated and declared important for several other reasons, some of them of specific concern to women — weight loss, satiety, lean body mass, athletic performance, and more.
– In 2012, adult protein requirements were assessed as 10% higher than previously assessed, for both men and women and all age groups (Millward, 2012).
– A 12-week weight loss study in overweight adults showed that higher protein intake promoted better retention of lean body mass in both trunk and legs (Tang et al., 2013).
– Maintaining adequate protein intake with aging may help preserve muscle mass and strength in adult men and women. Type of dietary protein may affect muscle mass and strength differently. Animal protein promoted higher lean leg mass with higher intake, while plant protein did not (Sahni et al., 2015).
– Older women in the higher protein group (1.1g/kg/day vs. 0.8g/kg/day) had lower body mass index and lower fat-to-lean ratio than those in the lower protein group. The lower protein diet also resulted in impaired strength in both upper and lower extremities (Gregorio et al., 2014).
– Even distribution of protein intake — approximately 30g of protein per meal — stimulated muscle protein synthesis more effectively than the typical pattern of skewing protein toward the evening meal, with a breakfast higher in carbs and lower in protein (Mamerow et al., 2014).
– A recent seminar on protein’s role in weight loss and satiety, offered by the American Council on Exercise, also recommended a protein pattern of 30 grams per meal, 3 times a day.
– Two studies indicated a need for increased dietary protein intake so that the so-called “nutritionally non-essential amino acids” would be adequate for animals and humans to achieve optimal growth, reproduction and resistance to metabolic and infectious diseases (Hou et al, 2015; Wu et al, 2013). Essential amino acids are ones that are not synthesized by the body and must be consumed in food. Non-essential amino acids were traditionally assumed to be adequately synthesized by the body for maximal growth and health. These 2 studies counter that assumption.
– Female football players have protein needs similar to those of male players (Maughan and Shirreff, 2007).
– Women strength athletes may require more protein than either endurance-trained or sedentary women. The recommendations are for less emphasis on high-carb intake and more emphasis on quality protein and fat consumption to enhance training adaptations and general health (Volek et al, 2006). Compared to men, women seem to be less reliant on glycogen during exercise and less responsive to carb-mediated glycogen synthesis during recovery.
– Minimum protein intakes should be approximately 25% of total calorie intake (Fulgoni 2008). Many adults, men and women, get only 15% of their energy intake from protein.
– In a 12-week study, a daily high-protein (35g)breakfast prevented gains in body fat. A “normal” protein breakfast did not. The high-protein breakfast reduced hunger and led to voluntary reductions of about 400 calories per day (Leidy, et al 2015).
Regarding the long-touted RDA of 0.8g protein/kg/day, Stewart Phillips, PhD, FACSM, FACN, and professor at McMaster University states, “nothing about that level should be recommended, and you’re allowed to eat much more. In fact, for older persons and athletes, there are benefits to consuming protein at levels above the RDA.”
Indoor cycling instructors are athletes, and regular participants may be, as well.
I can't remember ever talking to a new studio owner, who didn't express the dream to open & own a second… and possibly a third studio once their first was established.
Which raises an interesting question…
When is the right time to open a 2nd studio? And should you?
Studio Owner Nancy Katinas owns The Revolution, a pair of Indoor Cycling studios in upstate New York. She joins me to share her thoughts and experiences about how she and her partners built their first profitable studio. And then opened a second a few years later.
What about Instructor exclusivity? Dennis Mellon share his thoughts from the Instructor's perspective last week. Be sure to catch Nancy's explanation of her studio's policy – one that I found pretty gutsy as it takes a bunch of confidence to pull off.
If you're interested in learning about franchising options for opening an indoor cycling studio – we have a podcast you should listen to here.
Great stuff here for any current (or future) studio owners!
As you hear in the interview, despite not having Indoor Cycles with power indication, Nancy is a fan of Performance IQ – she's using PIQ's heart rate display training system with great success. Here's a few of her participants sharing their thoughts.
Looking back, I suppose it’s understandable that it took me 3 appointments to figure out what was going on with my client.
First and perhaps foremost, this client, whom we’ll call John, was a cyclist.
John came in for his appointment in rather odd clothes, but that’s hardly noteworthy in the California bay area. He wanted to lose weight.
John was already thin. Still, his desire to lose weight didn’t seem noteworthy, either. In my experience, cyclists often try to lose weight to give them an advantage on the road, particularly on hills. Many cycling routes in California are known for the tough climbs they present.
The leaner a cyclist can become — particularly if he or she can maintain strength and power — the faster he can climb those hills.
Typically, my clients who are athletes (of any type) are interested primarily in results. They welcome suggestions and recommendations that will help them get those results. That tends to be true even if my recommendations seem contrary to what they’ve heard elsewhere.
What set John apart from other athletes was his reluctance to do anything I asked him to do nutritionally.
My recommendations for John were nothing out of the ordinary. They all had to do with ensuring that he was properly fueled for both his training rides and his events. In order to keep his energy at peak levels and limit the loss of lean mass, I suggested making his weight loss gradual and carefully trimming calories from the non-ride portions of his day — and certainly not from his pre-ride meals, his on-the-bike fueling, or his immediate post-ride refueling. That fuel was too critical in his continued performance and power.
But John wanted to cut calories from all of those “fueling moments,” as well as the rest of the day. He didn’t want to do it gradually or carefully.
So we had 3 appointments of food log reviews, more questions, and John’s somewhat odd answers. In his third appointment, he requested supplements to speed up his weight loss, and it was clear that he was an anorexic.
First, he didn’t fit the demographic. Only about 0.1% of anorexics are men.
And, again, he was a cyclist, so the desire to lose weight wasn’t a red flag.
I don’t work with anorexics because I’ve found that there are psychological issues involved that are beyond my area of expertise and beyond the scope of my practice.
Since I don’t feel qualified to deal with the issues of anorexia, I refer clients to those who are.
This post doesn’t end with a final set of suggestions or food recommendations, other than to point out that it’s sometimes necessary to look beyond the obvious when dealing with clients. Each one is unique.
Serotonin is a brain chemical with different functions.
– It’s a neurotransmitter that’s targeted and enhanced by several antidepressants.
– It’s the precursor of melatonin, the “sleep hormone” and anti-inflammatory.
– It affects satiety and modulates general food intake and carbs specifically.
– It’s a vasoconstrictor.
– At high levels, it can make us lethargic.
– It plays a role in energy expenditure and motor activity.
Exercise can raise levels of serotonin. Typically, that’s considered beneficial because serotonin is often referred to — somewhat mistakenly — as a “happiness” hormone.
But among athletes, increased serotonin is known to exert a negative influence on endurance training by bringing on fatigue. Various studies over the past decade or so have shown this to be true in both human and animal studies.
The connection between serotonin and fatigue during endurance exercise is more pronounced in high-intensity (“exhaustive”) training.
Red Ginseng
Red (panax) ginseng has been promoted as an ergogenic aid for endurance athletes. Having never tried it, I can’t vouch for its effectiveness.
Tests on animals, however, suggest that the mechanism behind the ergogenic benefit of ginseng lies in its ability to suppress brain levels of serotonin.
The side effects of red ginseng vary and may include anxiety, headache, insomnia, nervousness, or dizziness. If consumed with coffee, it can cause irregular heart rhythms. Anyone taking meds for hypertension should avoid red ginseng.
Peony Root
Other animal studies show that peony root (paeonia radix) works similarly. It reduces fatigue by blocking the synthesis of serotonin during exercise.
The drawbacks of peony root are stomach upset, rashes in sensitive people, or its ability to slow blood clotting. That may lead to negative interactions with anticoagulant meds — either prescription drugs like Coumadin or over-the-counter items, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen (Naprosyn).
Acupuncture and glucose
Still other animal studies have shown that acupuncture at selected sites or glucose injections in the brain can improve treadmill running by suppressing serotonin synthesis and release.
So the serotonin/fatigue connection in athletes and animals has been shown time and again.
Protein To the Rescue
When I long ago learned of the connection between exercise-induced serotonin and fatigue, my first thought was of protein. A combination of mid-ride protein and starch would tend to block serotonin synthesis, I figured.
Sure enough, research supports that.
Protein added to a carb supplement has been shown, for example, to enhance running endurance capacity in football players toward the end of a game.
Experiments on rats trained on a treadmill and given free access to food and a choice between water and a water/amino acid solution showed that the rats preferred the amino acid solution when made to run on the treadmill. Tests revealed decreased brain serotonin in those rats. This suggests an ergogenic benefit of the amino solution.
How Can You Use This Info?
Fatigue has multiple symptoms that may occur simultaneously. For best results overall, a few basic workout guidelines should help.
Stay hydrated, of course, always. Dehydration produces severe fatigue (and worse).
Don’t overdress. Hyperthermia can increase perceived effort and derail endurance efforts.
Add protein to your fuel mix. Preferable types would be fairly easy to digest, such as organic pea protein powder. It could easily be added to the recipe for Dr. Joan’s Potato Goo, described in a previous post.
Wishing you excellent results with your endurance workouts in the year ahead!
I’ve never liked the word “snack.” People are casual with snacks, as if they don’t matter.
People also treat snacks as if they’re different from meals.
Case in point: When I give nutrition presentations, I outline a simple method for creating meals with a good balance of foods and nutrition. Someone almost always asks, “What can we have for snacks?”
The answer is: Whatever you have for meals, just less.
Does Everyone Agree About Snacking?
Some say snacking keeps energy levels high throughout the day. That prevents the low energy and excess hunger that can lead to overeating later.
Others — particularly weight-loss programs — stress eating precisely three meals per day. Snacking encourages overeating. With too many chances to choose food, we have too many chances to give in to temptation.
Let’s assume here that Snacks Happen, so we might as well be wise about them.
The Quick Energy Question
Clients often ask me what to eat for “quick energy.” Maybe they’re hoping I’ll suggest something sugary. (Those who read my posts or my book won’t be surprised that I don’t.)
The need for “quick” energy implies that your energy has dropped. Instead, balance your meals by eating a good combination of foods. That will help keep energy more even and sustained throughout the day.
Prior to a workout, when many people seek “quick energy,” eat a tiny meal that follows the same nutrient balance.
What Does a Balanced Meal Look Like?
Whatever the size of your plate, fill half of it with vegetables. And eat them.
Fill the other half more or less equally with protein foods (fish, shrimp, chicken, grass-fed beef, unsweetened protein powder) and complex starch (quinoa, yams, lentils, squash, turnips, and so on). Add “good” fats in moderation wherever you’d like them (coconut oil, avocado, macadamia oil, olive oil, raw nuts).
Treat snacks like small meals. If you treat a snack as if it’s different from a meal, it’s too easy to mess up the nutrient balance.
How To Balance Meals On the Go
One simple way to plan snacking throughout the day is to get some divided plates with lids. They’re available online and at variety stores, and resemble the color graphic above. Follow the plate format described. Vegetables always go in the big section!
If you have access to a refrigerator at work, perfect. Once you’ve created your solid and balanced meal, take the container to work. For a snack, just eat from the meal you put together.
But! Eat using the proportions of the divided plate. Don’t eat just one item in the container, no matter how good for you it may be. Eat the most from the biggest section (veggies).
If you eat lunch out, this method still works for your snacks. If you eat lunch at your desk, prepare two containers — one for your lunch, the other a smaller meal to snack from as needed.
Can You Drink Your Snacks?
Great question.
One research study allowed participants to eat at will from a buffet, and compared the calories consumed by three test groups.
Group 1 had no snack before eating from the buffet. Group 2 had a snack of 150 calories two hours before eating from the buffet. Group 3 had a 150-calorie snack in liquid form — juice, a shake or a smoothie.
Group 2 participants, who ate 150 solid snack calories, reduced their average intake of buffet food by about the same number of calories.
Group 3 participants, who drank 150 calories, did not reduce their buffet intake.
So drinking juice could possibly add calories to your day. If you’re thirsty, it’s a body signal for water.
There’s much more to say about snacking, but the bottom line is to treat snacks as small meals. Build them the way you would a meal. Keep the nutrient balance the same as for a meal. Don’t use snacks as an excuse to over-consume calories.
FYI, the foods that give the highest satiety are protein foods. Don’t skip protein.
Americans tend to snack on junky foods, but let’s not follow that example. In particular, avoid snacking on sugar. It’s bad for your health and increases appetite.
Who needs a bigger appetite with the holidays almost here?
The client’s food log was extreme. She kept track of every bite she ate and calculated the calories in each item. In the food log, she described every workout she did and the calories she had burned. She was working out several times a day.
But the most extreme thing about her food log was that it included almost nothing but sugar: pastries, chocolate, malted milk Whoppers, fat-free muffins.
Her health issues were also somewhat extreme, at least in severity. The problems were varied. She had irregular menstrual cycles, endometriosis, breast engorgement and tenderness, chronic fatigue, and quite a bit more. Perhaps unsurprisingly, none had been diagnosed as linked with her diet.
She didn’t feel ready to quit sugar, but was willing, in her words, “to cut back.”
While I saw a drawback or two with that approach, I was convinced that her long list of health issues had a great deal to do with the sheet volume of sugar she was consuming. All day, every day. I was ready for any improvement I could encourage her to take.
Basics of Sugar Reduction
Cutting back on sugar is pretty basic; everyone knows these basics:
Skip desserts.
Avoid sodas.
Don’t snack on cookies or other sugary foods.
Don’t add sugar to coffee or tea.
Many more.
But environment matters. Especially at home, where what you have — or don’t have — in your kitchen can make a huge difference. Figuring out which foods to stop buying — and which ones would be okay to swap for them — is important. The bad news: It requires an ordeal called Reading Labels.
It’s important to know what to look for on those labels. Sugar can hide behind many names. Here are the names I’m currently aware of — but please keep in mind that the list keeps growing as new sugars are created. Some are technically not sugar, but have virtually identical effects on insulin and brain chemistry. A few are simply different names for the same thing. For example, Cane Sugar and Sugar Cane are, obviously, the same.
Overt and Covert Sugars
Agave
Alcohol
Barley Malt
Beet Sugar
Brown Sugar
Cane Juice
Cane Sugar
Corn Sweetener
Corn Syrup
Date Sugar
Dextrose
Erythritol
Fruit Juice Concentrate
Fructose
Glucose
Glycerin
Glycerol
Granulated Sugar
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Honey
Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates (HSH, Maltitol Syrup, Lycasin)
Isomalt
Job’s Tears
Lactitol
Lactose
Lycasin
Malted Barley
Malt Extract
Maltitol
Maltodextrin
Mannitol
Maple Sugar
Maple Syrup
Molasses
Polydextrose
Powdered Sugar
Raisin Juice
Raisin Syrup
Raw Sugar
Rice Syrup
Sorbitol
Succanat
Sucralose
Sucrose
Sugar
Sugar Cane
Turbinado Sugar
Unrefined Sugar
Xylitol
Why Use the List?
What’s true is the first time or two that you shop using this list — and it’s a good idea to take it with you to the grocery store at first — you might need to spend a little extra time reading all the labels.
The good news: After a couple of trips to the store, you’ll know what you can buy and what to skip. At that point, shopping will be just as easy as it is now.
As for my sugar warrior client, she’s been working on reducing sugars for a while now. Yes, during her cutting back process, some of my fears were justified. Eating little bits of sugar made her crave more sugar. That made it tough, even impossible, for her to eliminate cravings. She still thinks of desserts as a viable option when she’s stressed, and has to tell herself “no” each time. The individual “no” doesn’t always work.
But her health has been improving. Her energy has increased a lot. And that has provided enough encouragement and motivation to get her committed to quitting sugar altogether.
Nutrition geek that I am, that’s what I live for; it is, after all, all about the client.
